Alice Mermaids
by Cuna999
Summary: /First Fanfic, really cheesy, bad grammar,read at your own risk./ Mikan Sakura and Hotaru Imai; mermaids who decide to visit land. Natsume Hyuuga and Ruka Nogi, royalty who found their most treasured belongings. And then a forbidden love...
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: I do not own Gakuen Alice. **

**My first fanfic! Please review **

**Prologue**

Mermaids. Mythical creatures with tails, living in the ocean. Fairy tales always talked about them, brushing their long hair, sitting on a rock, singing…yeah, you get the picture. But mermaids were just stories to amuse little kids. Mermaids never really existed, right? WRONG. In the Alice Country, there are many unusual things. The people living there all have powers called "Alices", and attend Alice Gakuen, a school for the children who had an Alice. But anyway, aside from the Alices, lived many other creatures. _Mermaids. _

"Mama," The 5-year-old brunette said to her mother.

"When I can I go see the surface?"

Her mother tensed. She was worried, because the surface world was dangerous. Even though everyone in the Alice Country had powers, her daughter's power had not been activated yet. She was too young to use them. Despite all her worries, she said to her daughter, "When you are 10, Mikan. If you're going to go to the surface, make sure you have Hotaru with you then," Hotaru was another 5-year-old girl, and she was Mikan's best friend. The brunette, Mikan, nodded. She was a 5-year-old mermaid with a pink tail where her legs were supposed to be. Her medium-length hair was tied into 2 pigtails with pink ribbons. She had chocolate brown eyes, and nodded at her mother.

"Okay, Mama…"

"And be very careful of the humans," Her mother warned.

Mikan nodded again.

"Yes…Mama…"


	2. The Encounter

Note/Disclaimers: I don't have Mikan living with her grandfather cuz…I don't like mermen. Ahahaha…. Oh yeah, and I'm not sure about Hotaru's hair color…its black, right?

I Don't own Gakuen Alice or the song sung here.

"Come on, come on! Hurry!!!!" Mikan shouted to her friend, Hotaru. It had been five years since her mother died, and this was the day her mother had promised her she could go to the surface. It was about 10:00 at night. Hotaru suggested this because the Humans should be asleep by now. She was another mermaid about the same age as Mikan, with a dark blue tail and short black hair. She liked wearing a hairclip Mikan's mother gave her. She had violet eyes, and had the invention Alice. She didn't really want to follow her energetic friend, but she was also curious to see what the Human World was like. Plus, Mikan was too dumb. She had to be with her so nothing happened. Otherwise, she would have regretted it, and, she wouldn't have been able to keep her promise to Mikan's mother. _Please, Hotaru…Protect Mikan…be with her…take care of her for me…_Were her last words to Hotaru.

"Wow, it's all dark up here," Mikan said, bringing Hotaru out of her thoughts.

"Well, it is night, dummy. What did you expect?" Hitting her with her Baka Gun (Invention #005: Baka Gun. When aimed at a moron, it launches powerful punches (like an air gun. It had a more powerful sister, the Baka Cannon)

"ITAI! Hotaruuuuuuu!!!" She whined.

She found a large rock nearby and pulled herself up.

_What a nice breeze…_she thought, as Hotaru pulled herself up, too.

**MEANWHILE…**

"Natsume! You shouldn't just run off like that!" A blonde-haired boy said.

"I don't care, Ruka!" The raven-haired boy yelled back.

"I'm sick of being the prince! What's with the 'you're going to marry Sumire, the princess of another country?! I'm sick of the arranged marriages!"

The Raven-haired boy was the prince of the Alice Country. He was handsome, and had the fire Alice. His friend, Ruka Nogi, was his best friend and had Animal Pheromones as his Alice. He usually carried a white rabbit around, which was sleeping now as he stroked its head.

"…If you're going to run, you'll eventually get caught, Natsume," Ruka said.

"Who knows what they're going to do to you when you get caught again?"

"Tch," Was all Natsume said as he thought of Persona. He did NOT want to wear the punishment mask again. He hated that, but he didn't care how much he got hurt. All he wanted to do was get out of the damn castle. He was still boiling up in anger while his friend watched him worriedly.

_Fly on the wings of love..._

_Fly baby fly…_

_Reaching the stars above…_

_Touching the sky…_

"Someone's awake, too," Ruka said.

"Do you think the person will recognize you?

Natsume had changed into regular commoner clothes, trying to look more like all the people in town. Ruka had also changed into something else. He also lived in the castle with Natsume, even though they weren't related.

_Fly on the wings of love_

_Fly baby fly…_

_Reaching the starts above_

_Touching the sky…_

_In the summer night_

_When the moon shines bright_

_Feeling love forever_

_And the heart is on_

_When the daylight's gone_

_There's just one more thing I'd like to add_

_She's the greatest love I ever had_

_Fly on the wings of love_

_Fly baby fly _

_Reaching the stars above_

_Touching the sky…_

"It's probably a girl…" Ruka said.

"She's good at singing."

"Hn."

They hid behind a tree and looked out. The people where pretty close, but they couldn't see their faces clearly.

"I haven't seen her around anywhere," Natsume said. He knew all the girls in the town because they always came to the castle, trying to see him.

"Maybe she's new to the town," Ruka suggested.

"Then they've got to have an Alice. Well, let's see what their Alices are. We can get a chance to see their faces, too." Natsume said, creating a fireball in his hand. He threw it at the people.

"MIKAN!!" Hotaru screamed.

Their tails flicked up in surprise, bringing some water with them.

"!! They're mermaids!!" Ruka whispered, trying not to speak too loudly because he didn't want to scare them away.

"Ngh!" Mikan put up her hands, and nullified the fireball. She blinked, and said "Do you think that was the power mom told me about?" she asked Hotaru.

"Congrats. Your Alice has been activated." Hotaru said.

"Yay! Thanks, Hotaru!!" Mikan said happily, going to hug her friend.

BAKA BAKA BAKA!

"Itai!!"

"Don't come near me. I didn't say you could hug me because your Alice activated."

"Hotaru…."

Ruka and Natsume came out from hiding, slowly walking toward the beach, and trying to be quiet so they wouldn't scare the mermaids away. Mikan took off her ribbons.

"That was close, though. Who would throw a random ball of fire in the middle of the night?!" She said angrily. Just then, a branch that had been lying on the beach snapped as Natsume stepped on it. Mikan and Hotaru gasped. "Humans!" Mikan pushed her friend into the water, and Hotaru took Mikan's hand and pulled her into the water too. One of Mikan ribbons fluttered into the wind, and Hotaru's hairclip came off when she was pushed into the water. With a flick of pink and blue tails, they were gone.

"….."

"….."

"Prince Natsume and Master Ruka! We have found you!" someone said.

Natsume and Ruka turned slowly, and let themselves be taken back to the castle by 2 of their bodyguards. They saw the belongings that the mermaids had left behind, (Mikan's ribbon landed on the beach, and Hotaru's clip was brought by the waves) and quickly grabbed them before they were taken away.

"….."

"….."

"….."

Excitement.

I hope you liked it! I tried my best to think of what Mikan, Hotaru, Natsume and Ruka would say to fit their personalities…


	3. Introduction

**Yay Chapter three! Thanks to those who reviewed! **

**I don't know what Ruka named his rabbit, so I just named him Usagi. (Japanese for 'Rabbit')**

**Where to mermaids sleep, anyway?**

**OoooOoooOOooooOooooOooooOooooOoooo**

"Now then, Natsume," Persona said. "Why did you run away?" He had short black hair, and he wore a white mask over his eyes. He usually wore black clothes, even in the summer. He was the punisher in the castle, and his Alice was to dissolve things.

Natsume growled. "You know perfectly well why I ran away, Persona."

Persona smiled.

**OooooOooooOooooOooooOooooOooooOoooo**

"Natsume, are you alright?" Ruka asked. Natsume had come into the living room with the cat mask on. He had wounds on his neck, legs, and arms.

"I'm fine."

Natsume sat down. "What did they do to you?"

"They took Usagi away." He sighed.

"They're not giving him back for two weeks."

After a moment of silence, Ruka said, "….So do you think they were real?"

Natsume looked at him. "What? The mermaids?"

Ruka nodded as he took out the hair clip. Natsume took out the ribbon.

"Well, they've got to be if we have some of their belongings."

"But it could have been anyone's. People go to the ocean a lot, so the ribbon could have been a little girl's. So could this hairclip."

Natsume shrugged.

"Then we'll go back early tomorrow morning. If these WERE theirs, we should return them. It might have been important to them.

Ruka looked at Natsume.

"Are you sure? The wounds Persona gave you…"

"I'm fine. I said that already."

"……" Ruka couldn't think of anything else to convince Natsume.

_Interesting…._

Persona had been watching and listening both of them, hiding behind the wall.

**IN THE OCEAN…**

"I…Think…We'll…Be…Okay….Now…." Mikan panted. She and Hotaru had never swum this quickly before. Hotaru gave no response, as she was too tired.

…_.Were those are the Humans Mikan's mom talked about?_

She thought.

_I couldn't see their faces well enough to recognize them again…_

"AHHHHH!!" Mikan screamed.

Hotaru turned around.

"One of my ribbons is gone!!" She said.

"My mother gave those to me for my birthday!!"

Hotaru felt her hair and realized her clip was gone, too.

"….My hairclip's also gone…" She said. Her voice didn't have any emotion, but she was really worried inside. The clip was just as important to her as the ribbons were to Mikan. She had also received it for her birthday.

"….."

"….."

"….I guess we'll have to look for it tomorrow. The elders will get mad if they find out that we weren't in bed by 11:00." Hotaru said.

"Mikan nodded as her lip trembled.

"EARLY in the morning though, okay?!"

She said. Hotaru nodded. She also wanted to go as early as possible. They swam back to their caves and went to sleep.

**5:00 IN THE MORNING…**

"Come on!" Mikan whispered to Hotaru. It was very early in the morning, but Mikan and Hotaru were wide awake. The quietly swam up to the surface, not wanting to wake any other mermaids up. It was still a little dark with small rays of orange-yellow sunlight and some pinkish clouds streaking the sky.

_Pretty…_Mikan thought, then shook her head. _No! I don't have time for this! I've got to find my ribbon! _She clutched the other ribbon in her hands.

"Do you think it went onto shore?" Mikan said. Hotaru shook her head.

"I already checked there while you were slacking off."

But Mikan didn't hear her friend. "Hotaru….look…" She pointed to the shore as the two boys appeared.

"Oi," The darker haired boy said. "This is probably yours, right?" He held up a ribbon as Mikan gasped. "My ribbon!" She said to Hotaru. She grabbed her hands and they swam over together. Mikan grabbed her ribbon from Natsume's hands. She glared at him and said,

"Why do you have my ribbon?"

"You dropped it, baka."

Mikan just glared at him more.

"So I'm guessing this you yours?" Ruka said, giving Hotaru the violet and white hairclip.

"…Thanks…" She said blankly. Just as they were about to leave, Ruka shouted to them, "Wait! What are your names…?" Mikan and Hotaru stopped and looked at them. Mikan smiled. "I'm Sakura Mikan. Nice to meet you!"

"Imai Hotaru. Nice to meet you."

Ruka smiled.

"Nogi Ruka. Nice to meet you, too."

Natsume said nothing.

"And, who're you, Mister?" Mikan said, crossing her arms.

"……….."

"….Hyuuga Natsume."

Mikan smiled. "Nice to meet you."

All she got in return from Natsume was "Hn."

"Well," Mikan said smiling. "It was nice meeting you…humans."

"Do you think we'll ever see you…mermaids again?" Ruka said awkwardly.

"Maybe. You never know. Our tails turn into legs when they touch dry land. You might recognize us if you ever see us. Or you might not." Hotaru said.

"We've got to go, Hotaru. The elders might have realized that we're missing." Mikan said. She turned to Natsume and Ruka. "Nice meeting you! Bye!" And she disappeared underwater. Hotaru bowed her head, and also dove underwater.

"Do you think we'll see them again?" Ruka asked Natsume.

"I don't know. What? Have you fallen in love?"

Ruka turned pink.

"No! I'm just saying. Mermaids don't usually show themselves in front of Humans. So…."

"Whaaaaatever."

"We should get back, too. We might be able to get away without punishment this time."

"Fine."

"Natsume…what about you? And Ruka, too. Do you know what happens if you fall in love with a mermaid?"

Persona said softly, from behind the tree, as he watched the two friends head back to the castle.

**Whoo! Chapter three complete! Hope you enjoyed it! I'm tired now…But writing it was fun! Yay**


	4. A New Job

**Whooness! Chapter Four is up! Again, thanks to everyone who reviewed! Arigatou, Minna!**

**And since they have to have some clothes, they just have some pain dresses and stuff at first.**

**OoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooO**

**ONE WEEK LATER….(IN THE OCEAN)**

"Ne, ne Hotaru," Mikan said, swimming around her friend.

"Let's go to the surface again. I wanna see the surface as humans."

BAKA BAKA BAKA!

"ITAI! What the heck what that for?!"

"For being an idiot."

Hotaru looked at her friend.

"Why do you want to go to the human world?"

"No reason…" Mikan said, turning the other way.

"….you want to see one of those boys we met a week ago, right?"

Mikan turned around. "NO!" She said. She turned pink a little.

"Well….maybe. But I really do want to see that Human world!"

"…."

"Fine. We'll go. But we have to tell the elders."

**OoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooO**

"…And so, we'd like to stay in the human world for a while!" Mikan said, smiling at Serina.

Even though Serina was still pretty young (about 29) she was considered an "Elder". Some elders weren't even old, but they knew a lot of things. Serina had long, blonde hair, and her Alice was sight. She used her crystal ball to see things.

Serina sighed. "Fine," she said.

"But be very careful. Hotaru, you know enough about the human world already, right?"

Hotaru nodded, and Mikan smiled.

"Thank you, Serina!"

**OoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooO**

"Wow, it's all bright this time," Mikan said.

Hotaru sighed. Could her friend be more idiotic sometimes?

They checked to see if anyone was around and swam onto shore. In a few seconds, their tails turned into legs, and their clothing matched the same color of their tails before. They wore long dresses with ruffles at the bottom. Mikan tied her hair up with her ribbons.

"Okay, let's go!" She said to Hotaru. They walked into the town nearest to them.

"…Walking isn't so hard," Mikan commented, as she started jumping around.

"Just don't bump into anyone." Hotaru said, sighing.

The town was very lively, with stands and stores selling many things made with people's Alices.

"Welcome…to Central Town…" Mikan read off of somewhere.

They walked around some more to see the other stands and shops.

"If only we had some Rabbits…" Hotaru sighed.

"Rabbits?" Mikan said. "Why would you need bunnies?"

BAKA BAKA BAKA!

"RABBITS are what the money is called here!" Hotaru told her.

_Idiot._

"Ne, ne Hotaru, what's that?" Mikan asked, tugging on her sleeve. In front of them was a huge, golden castle. It was very elaborate with other towers and colors and designs. It had a huge entryway with a red carpet lined with gold on the side.

"Who are you?" Someone asked. Mikan and Hotaru turned around and saw two people in armor.

"Who are you?" One of them repeated.

"I'm Mikan!" Mikan said happily. "Who're you, sir?"

The people looked mad, and then they each grabbed one girl and pulled her into the castle.

"Where are you taking us?!" Mikan said angrily. "WHERE ARE YOU TAKING US?!"

They were taking up a long flight of stairs and into another room. Inside was one big throne, a medium one, and two smaller ones.

"Sire," One of the men holding Mikan and Hotaru.

"I have brought some people who seem to have come from a different place."

On the large throne sat an old-ish man with a golden crown on top of his head. He had raven black hair and red eyes, and he wore a very elaborate robe. The lady sitting on the medium throne had long, raven black hair. She wore lots of jewelry and also and elaborate robe. The two smaller thrones were empty. The man with the crown stood up.

"I am King Hyuuga, King of the Alice country." He said in a big voice.

"A-Ah…." Mikan said.

"Nice to meet you, sire." Hotaru said.

The lady stood up and introduced herself as Queen Hyuuga, Queen of the Alice country.

Mikan and Hotaru bowed.

"Now," King Hyuuga said. "Where do you come from…?" he sat down, and his wife did the same.

"We come from the mer…" Mikan started, but didn't finish. Hotaru covered her mouth and said, "We come from…far away sire."

The king raised his eyebrow and was about to ask something along the lines of "Where?" but the door to the room opened and someone said in a familiar voice "Hey, old man…."

Mikan and Hotaru turned around to see Ruka and Natsume dressed in some fancy clothes.

"This thing…" Natsume said, looking at his clothing. He looked up and saw a very surprised Mikan and Hotaru.

They all pointed at each other. "You…" they said.

"**IT'S YOU!!!!"**

They shouted. "Why are you here?!" Ruka said, surprised.

"As a matter of fact, we don't know." Mikan said. "We were dragged here."

Natsume grabbed Mikan's arm and Ruka grabbed Hotaru's.

"Excuse us for a bit, Mr.Hyuuga," Ruka said, and Mikan and Hotaru were dragged away, again.

"…"

The king was speechless. Natsume and Ruka left them all sweat dropping.

**OoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooO**

"Yeah, so that's how it happened." Mikan and Hotaru were dragged into Natsume's room.

It didn't really look like a room, more like a small house. A bed, a private bathroom, and a small kitchen. Chandeliers hung from the ceiling.

Mikan had told the story about how they got into the castle.

"I can guess why…no one from here doesn't know the guards…" Ruka said.

"And anyway, why did you come into the human world?" Natsume said.

"Aren't you supposed to be in the mermaid world?"

Mikan smiled. "Well, yeah. But I wanted to know what the human world was like."

Hotaru shot her with her baka gun. "And I had to come with this idiot because she's so idiotic, as you can see."

"Hotaruuu…."

"But anyway, I don't think we can stay in this world for long." Hotaru said.

Mikan stopped whining. "Why?!"

"We don't have money, idiot."

Natsume and Ruka looked at each other.

"You can work here." Natsume said.

"As a maid."

Mikan blinked. "A maid? Why?"

Ruka explained. "You have to be from the Alice country to get a job here. Since you guys are from the mermaid world, I don't think you can do anything. Natsume means that since as a maid here, you'll get food at least."

Natsume smirked.

"You…" Mikan said.

"A MAID?!?"


	5. First Day Of Work

**Muahaha…now they're maids. **

**OoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoo**

"Dammit…" Mikan said. She didn't usually curse, but she was NOT happy. She and Hotaru were putting on the uniforms they received from Natsume. They were black and white, and easy to move around in. It actually felt pretty casual.

"Oh, it's actually not too bad," she said, turning around. She and Hotaru came out from the changing room.

"Okay. What do you want us to do? I don't mind cleaning, cooking, and anything else, but I have one condition." Mikan said, pointing to Natsume.

Natsume sighed. "What?"

"I ABSOLUTELY REFUSE TO CALL YOU MASTER!!!" Mikan yelled to him.

"End of story."

For once, Hotaru also agreed. Natsume rolled his eyes.

"I never said you had to. This is a list of what you have to do for today. My old man made this so don't blame me for whatever's written there."

He handed her a piece of rolled up paper. Ruka handed one to Hotaru. Mikan unrolled the paper. It contained about 5 things she had to do. Cook dinner, do half the laundry, clean the dining room, make beds, and tend to their pets.

"Oh, that's not too bad…" Mikan said to herself. She had expected a lot more, but was glad she didn't have any more than that. Hotaru unrolled hers and got doing the other half of laundry, clean the living room, fixing some things, and taking out the trash.

"We have dinner at 11:00.There's a recipe book in the kitchen when you make dinner. Pick anything from there. You'll find the ingredients pretty easily. Here's a map of the castle in case you get lost."

Ruka handed both of them another piece of paper containing the map.

"Now get going." Natsume said, walking away.

_Even though I only met him a week ago…I swear, one of these days…._Mikan though, clenching her fists. She calmed down and took a look at her map. She looked around for a clock and saw that it was only 8:00. She decided to do the laundry first, and then make dinner. She waved good-bye to her friend, and used her map to find out where to go.

"Do you think they'll be able to finish? Your dad gave them kind of hard tasks to do." Ruka said. He and Natsume had stayed to see what would happen. Natsume shrugged.

"It's fine if they don't. My old man doesn't think they can do it. He's testing them. The last 465 maids got fired because they didn't meet his expectations."

Ruka sweatdropped.

**OoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOooo**

"Whoo, that's done." Mikan said, putting her hand on her head. When she walked into the room, there was this…this _monstrous_ pile of dirty clothes. She did a lot of things like this in the mermaid world, so surprisingly; it wasn't that hard for her. She got it done a little sooner than she expected. She hung and dried the clothes, then went off into the dining room to clean. As she was walking, she bumped into Persona.

"Ah, I'm sorry sir," She said bowing. Persona smiled.

"That's okay. Thanks for all your hard work."

Mikan bowed again, and then went on her way.

**OoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOooo**

For Hotaru, this wasn't hard at all. She had the invention Alice, so she used her inventions for all of this work.

"This is too easy."

She also bumped into Persona as she was walking to her last task.

"I'm sorry," She said, bowing.

Persona smiled and told it was no problem. He also thanked her for her "hard" work just like he did with Mikan, and walked away.

…For some reason, Hotaru did NOT have a good feeling about this man.

**OoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOooo**

"God, they have a big dining room." Mikan said, scrubbing the floors. She was familiar with many house things, because they had it the mermaid world. Animals, too. Since she was a mermaid, she was able to talk to them.

"Um, whoa," Ruka whispered to Natsume. They had been watching Mikan and Hotaru a little bit, and they were getting things done pretty fast. Ruka sweatdropped.

"Hotaru has her inventions, so that's really not surprising, but Mikan got the laundry done in an hour! That…that…_THING _of clothes!" Ruka said.

"I know! I saw!" Natsume said. Even he was surprised.

"Now that I think about it, I haven't seen any other maids around here. I wonder if he even has any other maids for this castle?" Mikan said to herself, still scrubbing floor.

"She's an idiot," Natsume whispered to Ruka.

Mikan clenched her fists. "For some reason…I just felt…really infuriated…" Mikan said.

Ruka and Natsume sweatdropped and went back to their rooms.

**OoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOooo**

"Then add the eggs, ad then add a pinch of salt…and done!" Mikan said proudly. She had just finished making dinner.

"But wow, they have really fancy recipes," she said. She had never heard of these foods before. It was just about 11:00. She spent longer on dinner because for her, food was very important to her. She was brining out the 20 different dishes she was supposed to make (There was a note telling her that when she walked into the kitchen) as Natsume and Ruka were walking in.

"...Did your dad tell her to make this much?" Ruka whispered to Natsume.

"Probably,"

Mikan finished bringing out the dishes and brought out a large pot of rice.

"Do you use chopsticks?" She asked them, as she started putting some out. Ruka nodded, and Mikan stared at Natsume.

"If you don't, deal with it."

And with that, she walked out.

"Oi, baka, where are you going?" Natsume asked.

"To finish the rest of the chores. I'll eat dinner later."

**OoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOooo**

"Good girl,"

"Arf, arf!"

"See you guys tomorrow maybe"

Mikan had now officially finished all her chores. It was already 12:00.

"I should go to my room…which is where?"

She looked at her map and found a guest room.

"Maybe there?"

She looked inside and saw two beds and Hotaru eating something.

"We both sleep here," Her friend said.

"Hotaruuu!"

BAKA BAKA BAKA!

"Is this going to be my daily thing? Shooting you with my baka gun once a day?"

"Hotaru…"

Hotaru handed her a plate of one of the foods Mikan made for dinner today.

"Eat. We have to sleep soon. The raven haired person brought this here. "

_NATSUME?_

Mikan thought. She ate, changed into her pajamas, and brushed her hair. 12:30.

"Good night…" Mikan yawned, as she fell asleep.

**OUTSIDE…**

'We should go to sleep, too, Natsume," Ruka said. They were in the castle's garden staring at the stars.

"…yeah…"

"Oyasuminasai…"

…Though for Mikan and Natsume, they had absolutely NO IDEA what was in store for them tomorrow.

Absolutely no idea.

**WHOO! Chapter 5 is complete! "Oyasuminasai" means "Good Night" in Japanese. I suck at cliffhangers, but hopefully you'll look forward to the next chapter anyway!  
**

**I'm tired again….haha.**


	6. A fever,some coke,and a kiss

**Woo, chapter six! If you think the title is weird, you'll see how they all connect when you read!**

**And don't ask about their rooms…I dunno what they look like, okay? . **

**Also, remember that Hotaru knows a little more about the Human world than Mikan, okay? And that Natsume and Ruka's rooms are like a miniature house. **

**OoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOooo**

_Mmmmm! _Mikan thought as she woke up the next morning. It was a beautiful day – the sun shining, birds chirping, the morning dew on the grass…a great…

"GET UP NOW!"

Morning…?

Hotaru woke up as Mikan opened the door to see Natsume and Ruka standing there.

"Natsume!"

"Good. You're up. Anyways, here are you new tasks."

He handed her another piece of rolled up paper.

"Ehhhh…." Mikan whined.

"If you're a maid, you've got to do these things." Hotaru said, coming over as she received her paper from Ruka.

"Yeah, but I wanna have some time to return to the mermaid world for a little bit. I wanna see how Anna and Nonoko are doing…"

"Are they your friends?" Ruka asked, and Mikan nodded.

"Why can't they come onto the surface, too?"

"They don't have permission. Plus, their Alices haven't been activated yet, and the rule is that if your Alice has been activated and your mother lets you, you can go to the human world," Hotaru explained.

"Then why are you guys on land? When we first saw you, your Alice activated when you were sitting on that rock," Natsume said.

"Yeah, well, my mother died. She promised me that I could go see the land on my 10th birthday. So the elders let me go because my mother used to one of them." Mikan said, with a glint of sadness in her eyes. It disappeared almost instantly though as she smiled at them.

"Well, you do have some free time in the afternoon. You could probably see your friends then," Ruka suggested.

"You get a break at 1:00. Just make sure that you're back at 4:00." Natsume said, as he walked away.

"See you later," Ruka said, and followed his friend.

"Lessee…" Mikan said, unrolling her paper.

"In the morning…laundry, cleaning, and making beds…in the nighttime…dinner and caring for their pets…" She read.

_Let's get started! _She thought, and went to the laundry room. She started putting clothes into the washing machine.

_Eww…Natsume's underwear…_ Mikan thought, as she threw in Natsume's underwear into the washing machine. She poured in some washing machine stuff, punched the buttons, and let the machine its work. She went cleaned the floors and made their beds. Natsume's room was kind of plain, with a bed, a desk, a computer, and a shelf full of manga.

_It's kind of…lonely…_Mikan thought, as she smoothed out the wrinkles on his bed.

"Oi, What are you doing here?"

Mikan was so startled that she fell down.

"Polka-dots."

"Natsume!"

She looked around and saw that when she fell, she revealed her polka-dotted panties.

"Pervert! I'm supposed to be making beds! That's what was on my list!"

Natsume walked away.

_Grrrr…that….that….PERVERT! _Mikan thought.

Ruka's room, on the other hand, was…very…uh…animal-ish. Along with the same things in Natsume's room, (Except for the shelf of manga) was posters of animals and such and a rabbit cage and an aquarium. It was very cheerful. Mikan laughed a little.

"Ne Hotaru, do you want to come with me to visit Anna and Nonoko?" Mikan asked her friend at 1:00. Her friend nodded.

"Then, Natsume, Ruka-pyon, we'll be off!" Mikan said at the entranceway.

"Ruka-pyon?" Ruka asked her.

"Yup. I saw a rabbit cage in your room, so I'm going to call you Ruka-pyon!"

"…Uh…Okay…?"

**OoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooO**

It was about 3:50, and Mikan and Hotaru were heading back to the castle. Mikan handed the guards a pass to show that they worked in the castle that she got from Natsume. Otherwise, they wouldn't be able to come back in.

"I had fun!" Mikan said as they went into the castle. As they walked a little further, they saw Ruka with a worried expression on his face.

"Ne, Sakura, can you take care of Natsume?" He asked Mikan.

"What? Why?"

"While you guys were gone, he started burning up with a high fever. I have to go somewhere right now, and the King wants to ask Hotaru for something…" Ruka explained.

"….Okay…You do the same for humans like they do for mermaids, right?" Mikan asked Hotaru. Her friend nodded and went of to see the king, and Ruka left for his thing. Mikan went to Natsume's room and saw that he was sleeping. She quickly went to the sink in his kitchen and wet a cloth with cold water. As she put it on his head, he woke up.

"Oi, Polka-Dots…what are you doing here?"

"I'm supposed to be taking care of you…" She said quietly. He looked really tired.

"…Nngh…"

Mikan wrung out the cloth and wet it with cold water again. As she placed it on his forehead, she asked,

"Do you want something to eat?"

"Whatever…"

She went into the kitchen and made him some kayu.

(**A/N- Kayu is rice gruel, watery, soft cooked rice that resembled oatmeal. It is a suitable dish for using left over rice and is often served to sick people because it is easy to digest. )**

"I hate kayu," Natsume said as Mikan placed a spoon and a bowl of the rice gruel in front of him.

"Too bad. Deal with it." Mikan said.

Natsume growled, but ate the kayu, and took some medicine afterward.

"Ne Natsume, I'm kind of thirsty, so I can have something to drink?" Mikan asked.

"Yeah…just see whatever's in the refrigerator…"

As she walked over opened the refrigerator, so saw a bottle of coke.

_What's this? _ She wondered, and took a sip.

"Oi, baka, get me a glass of water," Natsume called.

Mikan came over to him. "Ahhhhhh…..Naaaattttsssuummeeeeeee….." She said, waving her hands like a little kid.

"…?!"

Mikan hiccupped several times.

"Why'd…hic..you get'ta feeverr at..hic…ths tiiiimme…?" She dropped the bottle of coke.

"Wait…are you drunk?!" Natsume said.

She climbed on top of him in an awkward position.

"H-Hey! My fever isn't going to get any better like this!"

But before he could say anything, Mikan pressed her lips against his, and kissed him.

"!?"

"Nnn…"

After a few seconds, Mikan fell beside him.

"…" Natsume touched his lips.

Just them, Ruka and Hotaru came in and saw Mikan next to him.

"Wha….what..were you guys….doing…..?!" Ruka asked.

Hotaru came over and saw the bottle of coke.

"Did Mikan drink this?" She demanded. Natsume nodded.

"Ahhhh….." Hotaru put her hand to her head.

"What's wrong?" Ruka asked.

"…We mermaids get drunk on fizzy drinks…My guess is that Natsume got kissed by Mikan…" She said.

Natsume blushed and turned the other way.

"So what's going to happen to Sakura?" Ruka asked.

"Mikan's going to be fine. She's just got to sleep a little bit, and the caffeine will wear off."

Hotaru had one of her inventions carry Mikan to their room, and Ruka left Natsume to rest.

"…."

A kiss…

**Whoo! Done with chapter 6! I got the whole coke-drunk thing from Mermaid Melody, Pichi Pichi Pitch  
**


	7. Their Past and a Lie

**Sorry for the late update! Here's the seventh chapter!**

**OoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooO**

"_Mom…mom…! Don't leave me…! "_

_Her tears ran down her face as she watched her mother die. The destruction of the mermaid world just ended, but her mother received serious damage. _

"_Hotaru…please…take care of Mikan…"_

"_Oka-san!" _

_The older woman's hands fell limp, as her eyes closed._

"_No…no…**NOOOOOO!**!" _

"Mom…" Mikan said quietly, as a tear rolled down her cheek. She opened her eyes and sat up from her bed.

_Our…room….?_

She looked at the clock. It was 5:00 in the morning. She slipped into her uniform, quietly crept out of the bedroom, and went into the garden. It was still pretty warm, so she wasn't cold. She saw a pond filled with freshwater. She smiled, stepped in the stones leading to it, and slid her legs in. She sat down on one of the large rocks nearby and watched as her human legs began to turn back into her pink tail. Her uniform dissolved, and she took her mermaid form-ribbons, seashells, and everything. She unlatched a beautiful necklace made of shells from her neck.

"Mom…" She whispered.

"Out of sight  
Out of mind  
Out of time  
To decide

Do we run?  
Should I hide?  
For the rest  
Of my life

Can we fly?  
Do I stay?  
We could lose  
We could fail

In the moment  
It takes  
To make plans  
Or mistakes"

She sang. It was still a little dark, and a light breeze blew across her face.

"Oi ,baka," A voice said.

Mikan turned around.

"Natsume…"

She smiled a little.

"You're better now…?"

Natsume looked at her.

"…I guess…are you okay after what happened?"

Mikan looked at him with question marks.

"…? What? Did something happen?"

_She doesn't remember what happened…?_

"_Most mermaids have a case of amnesia after that. They either don't remember at all and forget, or they need some time to recover." _

He remembered what Hotaru said.

"…Never mind."

"…?"

"And? Why are you in the water? Even thought the air is warm, the water should be really cold."

Mikan smiled at him. She showed him her hand, which was now kind of…dry and scaly.

"I _am _a mermaid. We live in the sea, so our skin isn't adapted to the air like humans. We're like fish, we can't live without water. "

She dipped her hands into the water for a few minutes, and pulled it back out. She showed it to him again, and this time, it looked like normal skin.

"…"

He sat down next to her.

"…"

"…"

"…"

"…"

"Ne…Natsume…?"

"What?"

"Have you…ever lost…someone important to you…?"

"No. And I really don't care."

"What about Ruka-pyon? What if he moved away or something?"

"If he moved, it was his decision. He must have had a reason."

"Wouldn't you be…the least bit sad?"

"I'm not in the situation now, so how would I know? Why?"

Mikan smiled cheerfully, latched back on her necklace, and placed her tail back on land. Her tail slowly dissolved into legs, and her uniform restored itself.

"I'm going back to work. Thanks for…talking to me."

With that, she ran back into the castle.

**OoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooO**

"What? She asked you that?" Hotaru asked Natsume. She was done with all her chores, and working on a new invention when Ruka and Natsume came into her and Mikan's room.

"Yeah…I was wondering why."

Hotaru smirked at him.

"…Why..?"

"No reason!"

"I want to know too, Imai," Ruka added.

She stared at both of them as sighed. She took of her protective mask.

"Do you know what happened to Mikan's mother?"

She paused.

"Wait; forget that, you obviously won't know."

She paused again.

"When a mermaid falls in love with a human…something really weird happens to the mermaid world. It goes into some kind of weird state. A few seconds later, the whole place starts falling apart. It's like a war. Most people don't survive this. The only reason Mikan and I survived was because of her mother and her Nullification Alice and her ability to steal Alices."

She rolled up her sleeves and showed them a mark.

"Mikan's is across her back. It's terrible. But knowing this, her mother fell in love with a human when visiting, and that caused the first destruction of the mermaid world."

She put back on her mask, and told them

"But the mermaid world somehow resurrects by itself. I told you, it's weird."

Although she was trying hard not to show it, Ruka knew she was crying inside the mask.

_There's got to be something more to this…He thought_

_True, Mikan's mother fell in love with a human…But...the whole thing about the mermaid world falling apart was fake...Mikan's mother was murdered by a Human...someone in this castle..._Hotaru thought to herself.

_I'm sorry for lying.._

**Hmmm….It should be time for an interesting plot twist soon! Or something like that. Ahahaha…**


	8. Visitors for Tomorrow

**Yayy! Chapter 8 is here! **

**OoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooO**

Hotaru waited a couple minutes after Natsume and Ruka left.

_I'm sorry for lying…I'm sorry…_

She took off her protective mask and wiped away her tears. She dabbed a cloth in some water and wiped it over they mark she had shown Natsume and Ruka earlier. It came off easily with a little scrubbing. Paint from one of her inventions.

_Mikan doesn't have any scar on her back. The mermaid world is strong enough to receive any kind of physical damage. The mermaids there can be harmed and they can also die, but the mermaid WORLD itself is strong enough to last eternally. _

Hotaru thought to herself.

_Mikan…she should be remembering how her mother really died after having her memory lost from the shock…_

"Wait…" She thought out loud. She ran after Natsume and Ruka.

"Ne," She said, trying to catch her breath, "Does anyone in this castle have a golden locket?"

"No. Not that I know of. Why?"

Hotaru searched her mind for an excuse.

"No reason. I was thinking of using it for one of my new inventions. Thanks, anyway."

She ran off.

_What the hell was that all about?_ Natsume thought.

_Whoever killed Mikan's mother…he or she took her golden locket…that's the only clue I have…_

Hotaru thought.

Hiding behind a wall, someone held a beautiful golden locket. The heart decoration opened, revealing a smiling girl…and her mother.

**OoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooO**

Mikan sat in the dining room, reading a book. As she was turning the page, a fireball flew towards her. Without looking up, she held out her hand and nullified it. She slammed the book closed and looked up.

"What was that for?"

Obviously, Natsume had thrown it at her. Ruka was also behind him.

"Testing your reflexes. "

"Are you getting used to the Human world more?" Ruka added.

Mikan nodded.

"What are you reading anyways, Sakura?"

She held up a book. It was something about RPG.

"I found it in Natsume's room. I wanted to see what sort of books he actually reads."

Natsume grabbed the book out of her hands.

"Don't steal people's personal belongings!" He yelled at her.

She stuck out her tongue and ran out of the room.

"Idiot."

Ruka laughed a little. They sat down, and Natsume placed his book onto the table.

"Oh yeah, Natsume, Isn't one of your childhood friends coming sometime tomorrow?"

"Holy crap."

"Her name's Yumiko, right?"

"All hell breaks lose tomorrow. She clings to me like…I don't know, but all hell breaks lose tomorrow."

"Well, Isn't Youichi coming tomorrow, too? You can ask him for help too. He's like you, even though he's 5 years old."

"Thank God for Youichi."

**OoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooO**

"What? You're having guests tomorrow?" Mikan said, eating some Pocky.

"Yeah. One is Natsume's childhood friend, and they other is his cousin, Youichi. Natsume's childhood friend, Yumiko, is going to be staying for two months. So is Youichi." Ruka explained.

"Er, Natsume? Are you okay? I thought you recovered from your fever…" Mikan said worriedly.

She pressed her forehead against his.

"Nope! You don't have a fever!" She said happily. Natsume turned away and blushed. Ruka and Hotaru noticed this, and smirked.

"He' starting to like her," Hotaru whispered to Ruka.

He nodded.

"That might be bad though. Yumiko is really attached to Natsume, and she's done terrible things to people who've liked Natsume from the past."

"She has her Alice. Plus, I'll be here, too."

"What are you guys whispering about?" Mikan said loudly, coming over.

"Nothing, you idiot." Hotaru said.

"Hmmm…okay…."

"Let's go, Ruka." Natsume said, walking away.

"See you," Ruka said, and followed Natsume.

Tomorrow was going to be Natsume's nightmare. Yumiko, age 10, just like them was coming to visit. For him, and hour with her was already hell. And now, for 2 months…holy crap. When he was a kid, he never asked Yumiko to come near him. She was from a rich family, a dangerous Alice, and his parents somehow made friends with hers.

_Could things get any worse?_

The answer to that was probably a yes.

**Done with chapter 8! I'm trying to add another emotion, and some of you might know what it is already. A new character has been introduced, and she's Yumiko! I just made her up. **

**And about the RPG book, if you watched the anime, when the Special Types are doing the Alice Festival, and Mikan's talking to Natsume in the classroom, remember she took a book from him as an idea for the festival? If you saw, it was an RPG book.**

**And Pocky is a chocolate covered biscuit. In I think episode 21, when Mikan is talking to Noda-sensei and Tsubasa, Tsubasa is eating Pocky. It's that stick sort of thing.  
**


	9. Natsume's Nightmare

**When I looked at the reviews for the last chapter, some you said that Yumiko was going to be like a clone of Sumire. Muahaha, she could be worse. Well, here's chapter 9!**

**OoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooO**

The next morning was very gloomy. The sky was gray and black, with no clouds or any sign of the sun. It was also raining like crazy.

_At least the sky's crying for me…_Natsume thought, going down to the entranceway. As an order from his mother, he was supposed to go down to greet Youichi and…._her. _Man, the next two months would be hell for him.

"Natsume, are you SURE you're okay? You look really pale…" Mikan said to him for the fourth time, worried.

"I'm fine, idiot."

She stopped asking, but she didn't look convinced.

Mikan, Hotaru and Ruka were also standing by the entranceway. At least he didn't have to deal with his nightmares alone.

"…They're here," Ruka told him softly, as a car parked in front of the castle.

"…"

3…

2…

1…

"NAT-SU-ME-KUUUUN!" A girl's voice rang out.

A girl with long, dark blue hair and ice blue eyes jumped out from the car and hugged him.

"Oh gosh, I missed you so much!! Did you miss me too? Oh, of course you did!" She said so many things at once, and she nearly killed Natsume with her hug because he had no air.

"Get away from me, hag." He said, throwing his Death Glare at her.

Suddenly, evil spirits flew out and surrounded her.

"Get away from Natsume-niichan, hag!" A small voice said. A boy about 5 years old with silver hair came out of the car. Mikan took him to Youichi, and the girl to be Yumiko.

Yumiko screamed, and Youichi let the spirits chase her around.

After a couple minutes, Youichi sneezed, and the spirits disappeared.

"Natsume-kun, I'm only 10, and I've won various beauty contests. I'm not like the ugly girls over there." Yumiko said, referring to Mikan and Hotaru.

"Ugly…?" Mikan said to herself, trying not to explode.

An anger mark appeared on Hotaru.

"At least we're not like you, who's an idiot and spoiled, girl."

She said.

"What?"

Her eyes seemed to paralyze Mikan.

"You DARE to insult me…?"

Yumiko held out her hands, and millions of ice crystals flew at Hotaru.

"HOTARU!" Mikan screamed.

A blue light surrounded Mikan, and after a couple of seconds, the crystals were on the ground.

Yumiko raised her eyebrows.

"Who…are you?"

"Um..uh…I'm Sakura Mikan…N-nice to meet you…" She bowed.

Yumiko smirked.

"Sure…"

Mikan grabbed Hotaru's hand and ran back into their room.

"I'm sorry; we've still got chores to do!" She said.

And she left Ruka and Natsume to deal with Yumiko and Youichi.

**OoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooO**

"I hate that girl," Mikan said to Hotaru.

"Why?" Hotaru asked, eating crab brains.

"I don't know…something about her….it's…" Mikan shivered.

"You don't have to be nice to her Mikan," Hotaru told her.

"You're too kind."

"Mmm…Well, I've got to make dinner. See you."

She skipped into the kitchen, only to see Yumiko flirting with Natsume, and Ruka, confused and not knowing what to do.

"Sakura-san!" Ruka said with relief.

"Um…Hi. What's everyone doing in here?" Mikan asked.

"I should be asking you that. Why are you in Natsume-kun's kitchen?"

"Well…I'm a maid here…I'm supposed to be making dinner…" Mikan said.

"Oh, okay. Prepare something for me and Natsume-kun!"

_God, she's so full of herself,_ Mikan thought, turning to the kitchen.

Yumiko smirked and shot some more ice crystals at her.

"OI, POLKA DOTS!" Natsume yelled.

Mikan turned around and held her hands up to nullify it, but she was late. The ice crystals cut her face and her arms... At that moment, Hotaru and Youichi came in.

"Mikan!!"

"Look," Mikan said to Yumiko, sitting on the ground.

"What did I EVER do to you to make you hate me like this?"

Yumiko smiled and went over to her.

"Stay away from Natsume-kun. To me, it looks like he's interested in you. I'll make your life a living hell." She whispered.

Mikan glared at the other girl.

"And…why should I listen to you, YU-MI-KO?"

More ice crystals hit her. She was bleeding pretty badly now.

"Yumiko, stop!" Natsume growled.

"Natsume…?" Mikan said. Everything around her started to look distorted.

"Get out. Now." Was all she heard him say to Yumiko before everything became black.

**OoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooO**

**  
**"Hey! Whatever your name is!"

Mikan heard someone calling her. She woke up to find herself with Youichi.

"Who…are you?"

"I'm Youichi. You're Mikan-oneechan, right?"

"Mmm…"

"Mikan…" She heard Hotaru's voice.

"Hotaru…What…Happened to…Yumiko…?" She asked.

"Hyuuga made her go back to her own country."

"Hmm…I guess I went to far by provoking her…"

She sighed.

"It's my fault. I don't know what made me say that."

Youichi gave her some flowers.

"Thanks, Youichi-kun."

"Get better, hag."

He left the room, and Mikan smiled.

"He's just like Natsume. Although he's a little more polite."

With that, she fell asleep.

**OoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooO**

"I-I'm sorry. I wasn't able to kill her."

"It's alright, Yumiko," A man's voice said.

"We'll just get them next time. We'll have to separate the Kuro Neko and our nullifier to kill them, I guess."

"Yes, Master."

He opened a golden locket, revealing the girl and her mother.

"Aren't you scared, Yuka, that you can't protect your daughter this time…?"

**Chapter 9, done! Yeah, I got sorta tired around the end, so it be kinda blah. Hope you enjoyed it anyway.**

**About the crab brains, when in the anime, Mikan-tachi are talking about Central Town, and Hotaru says, "Why don't you go and see for yourself for once?" She's eating crab brains then. (Me, personally, I don't think it looks very appetizing. sweatdrop )**

**Also, On a website, I found that Yuka is the name of Mikan's mother. I don't think we get to see a lot of Mikan's mother in the anime—she's seen more in the manga.**


	10. His Identity Revealed

**Hmmm…I should end this soon, huh? I don't really like stories that are like a million chapters…Some are good…but...hmmm…. Well, enjoy chapter 10! I'll try making some chapter longer, too!**

**OoooOoooOoooOoooOoooO**

…

"_Mom…Why…did you have to leave me like this?"_

_She cried profusely over her dead mother's body. Her friend couldn't' do anything either. She was also crying. _

"_Oh? There were still some people left?" A male's voice said. _

_The two mermaids looked up to see a man. He had done something. The two just knew it. Something about his aura…was just…BLACK. It was like being trapped in a small, dark room and being mentally tortured. It was like choking in smoke. It was…terrible. The two girls couldn't make out his face through their tears. Her mother had been killed on land because she had been tricked. _

"_You…" Mikan began angrily. She was shaking. She was just furious. _

_The man smirked._

"_What can you do? Your Alice hasn't even been activated anyway. I know you, Sakura Mikan. You're Auzumi Yuka's only and precious daughter."_

_He said the word precious with disgust. While he was being disgusted, Mikan took the opportunity to see he had blood on his hands. Yes, it was definitely this man who killed her mother. At that moment, everything behind them burst into red and orange. The whole town was burning. Burning, burning… hell…_

_Hotaru also took an opportunity to grab Yuka's golden locket. Maybe, just maybe, if she could get it, they could at least remember her face. _

"_Oh?" _

_The man had grabbed it from her after she was able to unlatched was kept it on. _

"_Trying to remember her by something, eh? Do you think we'll let you do that?" _

"_Master………I've finished burning the town," A feminine voice said. _

_The girl had said her master's name...but she couldn't make it out from all the crackling of fire behind them._

"_Good. "_

"_Should we kill these mermaids, too?"_

"_Yeah. We should. They've seen our faces or heard our voices."_

_The man pulled out a gun._

"_Have anything to say before you join Yuka?" He asked._

"_N-no…no…d-don't…DON'T COME NEAR US!!!"_

**SLAP!**

"Mikan?! Hey, Mikan, wake up!!" Hotaru voice rang in her ears and pains stung her face.

"Polka-Dots!"

"Sakura-san!"

"Hag!"

Mikan opened her eyes. The dark scene became yellow sunlight and the faces of Hotaru, Natsume, Ruka, and Youichi.

"Minna…?"

She realized she was crying. She quickly sat up and rubbed her eyes.

"W-what are you all doing here…?" She asked, trying her best to pretend nothing happened.

"…What did you see?" Hotaru asked her.

"…"

"Mikan…"

"…"

"Mikan!"

She finally broke down.

"Mother…s-she…I can remember a little of who killed her…"

"Wait, killed?! I thought she died from the mermaid world's destruction…?" Ruka said, surprised. Natsume was also. Youichi, on the other hand, didn't have a clue what was going on. Mermaids? Her mother?

"Umm…Youichi, wait outside for a second…" Ruka put him outside and he waited.

_Hmmm….Mermaids, huh?" _ Youichi thought. He smiled and went off to the kitchen.

"M-my…mother…s-she…was killed…b-by someone…I don't k-know who…but we do know it's someone in this castle…" Mikan managed to say.

"I'm sorry for lying. I…I wasn't sure If I should reveal Mikan's most important secret…" Hotaru said, bowing her head.

"It's fine, Imai. Is that why you asked about the golden locket before?" Natsume said, crossing his arms.

"…The golden locket is the only thing we…_should have _to remember Yuka-san by… until…that horrible man took it away!" She practically screamed. Neither Natsume or Ruka knew what to say.

"Hotaru-oneechan and hag!" Youichi's voice said.

The door flew open with Youichi carrying a bucket of water.

"Youichi-kun, what…" Mikan started, climbing out of the bed.

"HERE!"

He threw the bucket of water onto Hotaru and Mikan.

"Ah…" Hotaru said, as her legs and uniform began to dissolve and form her dark blue tail started to form.

"Oh, it was water…" Mikan said with relief. Her pink tail also started to form, and her human clothes dissolved.

"Hmmm…that's what you meant by mermaids…" Youichi said.

"Yup…oh yeah, we never told you, did we?" Mikan said, squeezing out the moisture from her hair. Hotaru shook her head to get the water out.

"Hmm...It's been a while since I've been in my mermaid form…" She said.

_B-bump…B-bump…_

"Mikan…?"

_B-Bump…_

"HEY!"

"_Have anything to say before you join Yuka?_

_His black hair…_

_His voice…_

_His aura…_

_Everything about him…"_

"Polka-dots, what are you saying?!"

"_His eyes…_

_The blood…_

_Mother…_

_Yumiko…._

_They all…_

_Connect…_

_To my…_

_Past…_

_The mask…_

_On his face…"_

Mikan was really scared now. She shivered and put her hands to her cheeks.

"_It's all…_

_Coming back…_

_After those five years…_

_My mother…_

_Was killed…_

_By Yumiko…_

_And a man…_

_Named **PERSONA…**_"

And again, from behind the wall, he smirked.

_So you've finally found out, eh? …**SAKURA MIKAN…**_

For the last time, he opened the golden locket, with a smiling Mikan, Hotaru, and Azumi Yuka.

He dropped the locket near the door.

"_A man…_

_Named PERSONA…"_

**Yuuuup, and that's the end of chapter 10! Some of you probably already figured it out that it was Persona. But for the people who didn't, yup, Its Persona. AND Yumiko, too. Hmm…it was kinda weird I guess about the B-Bump sort of noise. It's supposed to be a heartbeat. Trying to make it more dramatic, but….yeah. Since Natsume and Mikan aren't really close yet, I'm going to add some chapters where they do. I was thinking about doing Hotaru and Ruka, too, but I'm not exactly sure how to bring them together…**

**Oh, well. I'll try my best! Look forward to the next chapter!**


	11. Heartbeat

**Yayyyy, Chapter 11! Enjoy!**

**OoooOoooOoooOooOoooOoooO**

_Clink_

Mikan, Hotaru, Natsume, Ruka and Youichi all heard something drop. Youichi walked over to the door and picked up the golden locket.

"What's this?"

Mikan and Hotaru's eyes widened.

"Youichi-Kun…can I see that?" Mikan asked.

The young boy obediently gave the locket to Mikan. She carefully opened it, and as she did, she looked sad, surprised and happy all at the same time.

"M-Mother…"

Inside the heart decoration was a picture of her, Hotaru, and her mother, Azumi Yuka.

_Mother…I miss you so much…I hope...you're doing well…_

Ruka, Natsume and Youichi said nothing. What could they say? She was remembering her mother, and Hotaru was thinking, too. Warm, salty tears slid down Mikan's cheeks.

"A-After 5 years…I've accepted my m-mother's death…b-but it's just…this time…I can't help but cry…" She said. Her tail slowly morphed back into legs. He hugged them and hid her face, holding the golden locket.

_Mikan…you're strong…_Hotaru said. Her own legs turned back into legs.

"Imai-san…"

Hotaru gasped, as she realized that her own tears were sliding down her face.

"Err…I-I wonder why…?"

She rubbed her face, only to have more tears stream down. She couldn't help it. Her own parents died when she was 7. She never showed any emotions before and after that. Why?! Why now?!

"…"

"Don't forget…that we're here for you, too…" Ruka and Natsume said. They weren't exactly sure _what _to say, and they didn't usually say these kinds of things, so it was a bit awkward.

"…Thanks…" Mikan said quietly.

_Maybe he isn't so bad after all…_

**OoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooO**

"Damn it!! Persona isn't anywhere!!" Natsume said. He and Ruka were searching for Persona to confront him.

"You know...He probably heard the whole conversation. I mean, he was the one who took the locket from Imai-san, right?" Ruka said.

"Damn it!"

"…"

"Ne, Natsume…why are you trying so hard?" Ruka asked him

"No reason…I hate that Persona anyway. I need a reason to beat the hell out of him." He turned the other way.

"You…You like Sakura-san, don't you?"

"Hell no! She's such in idiot."

But, no matter what he said, Ruka could see right through him.

"What about you? You like that Imai girl, don't you?"

This time, it was Ruka's turn to look away.

"I-I have to feed Usagi now…"

He ran back to his room.

_Escaping from the conversation…but that just proves it…_Natsume thought.

"Damn it, Persona!! Where are you hiding?!"

**OoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooO**

As Ruka was running, he saw a figure in the hallway.

_Imai-san…_

He was surprised to see that she wasn't using any of her inventions today. She was doing everything by hand.

"You're not using your inventions today?" He asked her.

She looked up in surprise.

"O-oh…Ruka-kun…"

"Sorry, did I bother you? Were you thinking about something?"

"Hmm…yeah…about Yuka-san…"

_She's…kinda different…_Ruka thought. She wasn't emotionless like before. She seemed more…vulnerable.

"And? What do you want?" She snapped at him.

_Forget that…_Yup, she was back. The same, emotionless girl.

"…What's been bothering you?" He said.

"You're not even using your inventions today. You usually use them every day."

"No reason…I was just thinking. My parents died when I was 7, so I was taken in by Mikan's family. And…well, after 5 years, seeing Yuka-san's face again…it's just…weird…" She said, sweeping the floor.

"My parents travel a lot and rarely come home…so I was taken in by Natsume's family…" Ruka said.

"Hmmm…"

She suddenly smiled.

"Thanks for chatting…"

Ruka blushed. He never really talked to her before.

BAKA BAKA BAKA!

"Ow!"

Hotaru shot her baka gun at him.

"What was that for?"

"Hmph."

After that, she just walked away without a word. Ruka rubbed his head.

_What was that for??_

**OoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooO**

At around 5:00, it started to rain heavily. The weather forecast had said there was going to be thunderstorms later. Everyone (besides Youichi and the king and queen) sat in the living room, watching the rain stream down the window.

"I'm bored…." Mikan whined.

"Stop being loud," Natsume said, reading his book.

"Whatever, Natsume! If I'm bored, I can be bored and complain all I want!" She snapped back.

Everyone but Hotaru was surprised.

"She gets kind of crabby when she doesn't have anything to do," She whispered to them.

Mikan sighed.

"I'm going outside."

Natsume stared at her.

"Are you crazy?! It's pouring outside. Plus, you'll turn into a mermaid and won't be able to get back in because the land isn't dry enough for your tail to turn back into legs." Natsume told her reasonably.

"Damn it!"

She went to the kitchen to get a glass of water. She took a whole can of salt and poured it in, and stirred with a spoon.

"I. Am. So. Freaking. Mad." She growled.

She stirred some more and added some more salt. Everyone stared at her. She added another can of salt.

"Is she going to drink that?!" Ruka whispered to Hotaru.

"Probably. Most likely."

They all watched her as she drained down the cup. Her angry face turned friendly again. She placed the cup down and smiled.

"Since mermaids live in the sea, we are used to salty waters. Mikan calms herself down by drinking…really, really salty water." Hotaru told them.

Mikan sat herself down on the couch, next to Natsume.

"Reading manga?" She asked him.

"Hn."

"…"

**BAM!!**

Thunder struck. Mikan and Hotaru, who were scared by it, jumped to the two boys. Mikan went to Natsume, and Hotaru went to Ruka.

"KYAA!!"

"AHH!"

Natsume fell backwards on the couch, as Ruka stumbled a little bit. (He was standing up before)

"Err..sorry…I didn't…KYAA!!"

Another strike of thunder crackled in the sky and cut Mikan's sentence off.

A few minutes later, the thunder stopped and both girls stood back up.

"Um…err…sorry…mermaids are sensitive to loud noises…" Hotaru explained. Mikan bowed her head, her face red.

"I'm sorry!" She said, and she and Hotaru ran to their room, leaving the other two guys blushing, also.

Mikan buried her face into the pillow.

…_But…despite his cold behavior…he was warm…She thought. _

B-bump…B-bump…

_What? W-why…is my heart beating so fast?!_

The same thing was happening to Hotaru, their hearts racing like crazy.

_WHY?!_

**Yayyy, chapter 11 done! Some action stuff is going to come later, though. Their personalities might have seemed…different. Natsume and Ruka, probably. But yeah…Eleventh Chapter, complete!**


	12. Departure

**Here's Chapter 12! Enjoy!**

**OoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooO**

He stood in the garden, watching sakura petals float down gently from the tree. Spring. How long would it take for them to find him? He held out his hand to catch a petal. For him, as it touched his hand, the pink petal dissolved.

**OoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooO**

"He's an IDIOT! I hate him, I hate him, I hate him!!!" Mikan screamed, making sure Natsume could hear her from his room. A few minutes ago, because of her clumsiness, she had fallen down again, and Natsume kept calling her "Strawberries" because of her underwear.

"BAKA!!!! HENTAI!!!"

Hotaru sighed. Couldn't she at least work on her invention in peace? Mikan stomped to the kitchen.

"He makes me so mad!!" She told herself.

As she went to the kitchen, she saw Natsume reading a book at the dining table, and Ruka petting a white rabbit.

_Doki-doki-doki-doki_

_Ugh! W-Why won't it stop?!_

She casually tried to walk over to the sink.

"Strawberries."

All the nervousness and heartbeats stopped. An anger mark appeared on her head.

"N-Ne, Natsume…would you like some water?" She asked him, somehow hiding her anger from her voice.

"Yeah. I am kind of thirsty," Was his reply.

She got out a cup and poured him a glass of water. Then, she quietly and secretly took out a can of salt and poured it in, then stirred it quietly.

"Oi strawberries, why does it take you so long to pour a cup of water?"

"Ah, sorry, I…was just thinking…" She walked over to him.

"Well, anyway, here…"

She placed the cup of water on the table and waited for him to drink it. Natsume, not looking up from his book, took the water and put it close to his lips.

Mikan waited. One more, and…

_SPLASH!_

Natsume threw the cup at her, causing her to turn into a mermaid.

"What the hell was that for?!" She asked him, shaking the water from her hair.

"I'm not so idiotic like you that I wouldn't know you put something in this cup." He said, looking at her.

"Grrr…"

Youichi came in carrying a towel.

"Ah, Mikan-oneechan…" He said. He gave her the towel. He liked her a lot now. Partly because she was a mermaid, and partly because she liked Natsume and Natsume liked her.

"Thanks, Youichi-kun…you're unlike that…that…_pervert_ there." Mikan said, drying herself off and glaring at Natsume.

"Ah, Imai-san!" Ruka said eagerly.

"Hotaru!" Mikan said happily.

Hotaru sighed.

"If you want to turn into a mermaid, do it outside…I just cleaned the floors…"

Mikan had an idea.

"Then let's all go outside!" She said, clapping her hands together, as her tail started forming legs again as she started drying it again.

"For what reason?" Natsume asked her.

"Enjoy the scenery."

She actually didn't have a reason, but she wanted to go outside. It was really pretty outside, and she wanted somebody to join her. She grabbed Natsume, Ruka and Hotaru and went outside into the garden. Youichi also followed them.

"Mmmm!" Mikan stretched her arms out.

"It's great to be outside!"

"…"

Natsume was just about to turn back to the castle when something black caught his eye.

"What…?"

He ran over to where it was.

"PERSONA!!" He said angrily when he could see the man clearly.

"Natsume…?" Mikan said, turning her head.

They all ran after him to where he was.

"P-Persona…"

Flames appeared all around him.

"Do you think you can stop me that easily?" He said, smirking.

The flames dissolved.

He held out his hands, and dissolved part of a tree. The tree creaked, and started to fall on top of Mikan.

She jumped out of the way.

Youichi tried sending some evil spirits at him, but they had no effect.

"Why…why did you kill Yuka-san?!" Hotaru shouted at him.

Persona's lips curled into a smile.

"I'm a member of AAO. It was an order…because mermaids' Alices are more powerful then regular Alice users if they know how to use it correctly. "

More flames were shot at him as her dissolved them.

"And of course, most brats like you aren't able to yet."

Animals started appearing around him, waiting to attack. A tiger jumped at him, and Persona dissolved one of his whiskers.

"He can dissolve animals, too?!" Ruka said. He let the animals go. He could and wouldn't let his friends get hurt. Worse, dissolved by Persona.

Hotaru threw some smoke bombs, and Natsume ran to Persona.

"BASTARD!!!"

He lit a flame. He was able to burn Persona a little on the face.

"Hmph." Was all Persona said. He put his hand to his cheek.

After a little bit, he somehow they teleported to a cliff by the sea.

"One of Reo-sama's friends, eh?" Persona said.

**OoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooO**

Natsume panted. How many hours had gone by? He was exhausted.

"Persona…you damn bastard…" He said.

"Natsume!" Mikan said. He didn't look like he could last much longer.

"Oh? Having trouble?"

Reo and the guy who could teleport appeared.

"Reo-sama!" Persona said.

The cream brown-haired man was a popular singer. He was part of the AAO, and had voice pheromones. The other man working with him had the ability to teleport.

"RELEASE!!" Reo said, loosening his earring which controlled his power.

Everyone but Mikan was knocked out. Persona and the teleportation man weren't affected because they wore earplugs.

"Sakura Mikan…Yuka's daughter, huh?" He said, smiling in a way that made Mikan feel cold.

"D-Don't…come near me…"

The man pushed Hotaru off the cliff and she fell into the water.

"Hotaru!!"

Mikan stepped back as Reo came closer to her.

"Don't…"

As she took one final step backwards, she missed her footing and fell into the water, just like her friend.

She took one final look at Natsume, who was regaining consciousness.

"MIKAN!!!"

She smiled, and tears formed in her eyes.

_I love you…I'm sure…one day we'll meet again…_

She mouthed to him. Not knowing weather he was able to understand it, she fell into the water.

As Reo, and Persona teleported somewhere with the teleportation man, Ruka and Youichi gain consciousness.

"Nghh…What…what happened to Imai-san and Sakura-san?" He asked Natsume, shaking his head.

"They…they fell into the water…and probably returned…to the mermaid world."

Ruka stared at him in shock. Returned?

_How could you leave…without me telling you…my feelings?_

**End of chapter 12! I have no clue how Persona's Alice is used for battle, so…yeah. Doki-Doki is supposed to be another heartbeat sound. THE END OF ALICE MERMAIDS!!**


	13. Reunion's Confession

**Haha. Just kidding. This is probably gonna be the last chapter. Did I scare you? **

**OoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooO**

It had been five years after that incident. Natsume and Ruka are now 15. Youichi is 10 now, and he's came back to visit Natsume and Ruka like he does every year. They never saw any mermaids since _they _were ten. They've all grown handsomer, which makes girls go even more crazy.

"This sucks," Natsume said, looking out the window.

Guess what today was? February 14. Valentine's Day, with girls mobbing the castle entrances. His father wanted him to go accept chocolates, but he refused. Like hell he was going out there. Same thing with Ruka and Youichi.

"I'm so bored…" Youichi said. He went to get a glass of water. As he came back, he noticed Natsume and Ruka staring at it.

"It's been five years, huh…?" Ruka said to Natsume, smiling.

"Yeah…" Natsume smiled back.

"Maybe we'll see Mikan-oneechan and Hotaru-oneechan again someday," Youichi said.

He got a smile from both Natsume and Ruka.

Youichi drank the water as all three continued to stare out the window.

"What's happening?" Ruka said.

All the fan girls had stopped screaming. The three boys looked some more and saw two other girls.

Both were wearing sunglasses, even though the sun wasn't really that strong and it was still cold out. One had long, light brown hair down to her waist. She wore a white dress and stylish white boots. The other had short, black hair a little above her shoulders. She was wearing a black dress with black boots. They both looked very beautiful.

They walked up to the guards and showed them something. Natsume couldn't make out what it was, but he could see it was something very old. The guards nodded and let them inside.

After they walked inside, the fan girls started screaming again.

"What…what was that all about?" Ruka said.

"You don't think those are girls for another arranged marriage, do you?" Youichi said.

"Hell no. At least I hope not. That Sumire girl I was going to marry five years ago was hard to fight off. Good thing my old man decided to cancel it. For his sake and mine." Natsume said, sighing.

Ruka laughed.

_Knock Knock_

"Who is it?" Youichi called.

King Hyuuga came in with the two girls they saw before at the windows.

"These girls say the wanted to see you. They had permission from the guards."

The brunette mouthed "Thank you" to the king as he winked at her.

Okay, they were definitely hiding something.

"Who the hell are you?" Natsume said coldly, trying to make one of the a little scared. He didn't want any chocolates or lovey-dovey things right now. That was the one thing he tried to AVOID today.

But no, the brunette smirked.

"You don't remember, huh?" She said, crossing her arms.

"…"

She held out her hand to the black haired girl, and she gave her a gun sort of machine.

BAKA BAKA BAKA!!

She shot the gun at Natsume and Ruka.

"You idiot!! Dumbass!!" She screamed at them.

The other girl shook her head.

"I guess there are stupider people in this world."

"…."

The brunette sighed.

"Man…I guess I should have expected this…from a perverted idiot like YOU!!!" She screamed again, whipping off her sunglasses, revealing chocolate brown orbs.

"!!!"

"NOW do you remember dumbass?!"

The other girl took off her glasses also, showing her emotionless face.

"Never knew you could be so stupid, Ruka-kun, Natsume-kun." She said, polishing the gun.

"You broke my invention."

"Mikan…?"

"Imai-san…"

An anger mark appeared on Mikan, as she clenched her fist.

"NATSUME—"

Since Youichi still had some water left, he splashed it on her.

"Thanks, Youichi-kun"

She turned back into a mermaid.

"Your attitude changed a lot," Natsume said, recovering from shock.

"When I'm angry, yeah. I got smarter, too."

Natsume smirked.

"f(x, y, z) 2xy +6yz +8xz" Natsume said.

"7200" Mikan responded immediately.

Ruka and Youichi sweatdropped.

Mikan smiled.

She looked around the room. It was pretty clean, but… something…was missing.

"Have you guys cleaned this room at all?" She said, waiting for her tail to turn back.

"Not really. My old man hasn't hired any new maids since 5 years ago."

Mikan sweat dropped.

As her legs turned back, she smiled and said,

"Then I will,"

**OoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooO**

After an hour, everything was sparkling clean. They all sat down in the living room to talk.

"So, what happened to Persona?" Hotaru asked.

"I don't know. He hasn't come back or anything since 5 years ago. There's been no sign of him," Ruka said.

"And? How did it take you 5 years to come back here?" Natsume asked them.

"Well…ehehe…" Mikan said, "Well, see, we managed to get back to the mermaid world, but after Serina saw us kinda injured…she prohibited us to go back to the human world for 5 years…"

"How have you guys been for the last past years?? I see girls are still going crazy for you guys." Hotaru smiled.

"Oh, yeah…Ruka-kun, come with me for a second…" Hotaru said, dragging Ruka outside.

Mikan watched them for a little bit, and then walked over to Natsume and gave him a box.

"I don't know if you like chocolate…but…here…."

She smiled.

"Thanks…"

Mikan was surprised, because she never really saw him smile before.

"…I love you…" She whispered. She blushed and turned away.

Natsume was really surprised at this, but then smiled. He took her arm, and as she turned around, he kissed her.

**OoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooO**

"What is it Imai-san?"

"Here…" She handed him a heart-shaped box.

Ruka smiled.

"Thanks…"

She smiled.

As she turned to leaved, he called after her.

"Imai-san!"

And, like Natsume, as she turned around, he kissed her.

**OoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooO**

It was already noon. When they all met up again, no one said a word—they were too embarrassed.

Youichi, who went to the kitchen when all the action took place, had no clue why they were blushing. But, being the smart kid he is, he figured that they kissed.

"So, how long are you staying?" He asked.

Mikan stopped blushing.

"I'm not sure. Like 5 years ago, we can stay as long as we want."

The boys smiled.

Hotaru smirked.

"We'll be staying here. Maids?"

"If you want to," Natsume said.

And everything went back to normal.

**OoooOoooOoooOoooOoooOoooO**

And, what did you expect? A few months later, they became a couple. In the beginning, Persona had said "Do you know what would happen if you fall in love with a mermaid?" The answer to that was "You'd live a weird life" Mermaids have different customs than humans. But otherwise, nothing bad would happen.

…And they lived happily ever after…

**THE END**

**The REAL end of Alice Mermaids. I don't know if you like the ending, but I wasn't sure what to put. And about the math equation Natsume gave to Mikan—don't ask. I got it from an old math textbook.**

**THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO READ ALICE MERMAIDS!! Please make sure to review!! Domo Arigatou!! See you in my next fanfic!**

**-Cuna999**


End file.
